The Olivine belt of the Earth is known in our time thanks to the fantastic novel "Engineer Garin's Hyperboloid." The Gold Rush, the scientific and technological revolution of the beginning of the 20th century and the aggravated social problems of that time - everything was mixed up in this literary work by A. N. Tolstoy. Before starting work, the writer consulted with scientists. However, does the olivine belt actually exist or is it just a metaphor?
What is olivine?
Olivine is a mineral composed of silicates of iron and magnesium. It is called the building material of the Universe, since it is widely distributed in nature. In the bowels of the Earth it consists of rocks formed as a result of solidification of the magma melt. Olivine is formed at high temperature (about 1600 ° C). In the mantle of the planet, located between the earth's crust and the red-hot core, its content prevails in comparison with other minerals.
He received his sonorous and beautiful name thanks to the yellow-green color, reminiscent of the color of olives. However, in nature there are other varieties of it - dark and transparent.
Olivine is an unstable material. As a result of natural processes, it turns into other rocks - serpentine, xenolith, talc, chlorite, and major garnet.
Green beaches and meteorites
On Earth, there are several unique olivine beaches dotted with small green pebbles. Among them, multi-colored beaches on the Hawaiian Islands, consisting of different rocks of volcanic origin, which over time were crushed by a sea surf, stand out. Papacolea olivine beach was formed as a result of a collapsed slope of the volcano. Even the water in this place has a greenish tint, as it is saturated with particles of the mineral. At sunset, olivine stones resemble emeralds, and local authorities banned their export to preserve the unique beauty of this place.
The main "supplier" of the mineral on such beaches are active or extinct volcanoes that slowly decompose under the influence of the atmosphere. Olivin is found not only on Earth, but also on other planets and space objects. Scientists have found several large meteorites consisting of an alloy of olivine and native iron. This mineral is also the most common in the lunar soil. Its content is 39% in satellite samples of our planet.
The structure of the Earth according to the assumptions of scientists at the beginning of the XX century
The hypothesis of the olivine belt of the planet arose in the early 30s. XX century. In these years, scientists have formulated a model of the deep structure of the Earth, consisting of several layers. The scheme developed at that time allows us to understand that this is the olivine belt of the Earth:
- The outer layer of terrestrial matter is the crust up to 30 km thick, the most massive under the continents. It consists mainly of granites and sedimentary rocks.
- Under the crust is a layer, the bulk of which are metals in the molten state and under high pressure. Sometimes they are thrown to the surface of the Earth during volcanic eruptions.
- In the third layer is the olivine belt, consisting mainly of olivine. And in its lower part, as suggested by scientists, a huge amount of precious metal is concentrated - gold. The olivine belt delimits the dense core of the Earth from the liquid layer.
It was a prototype model that formed the basis of modern geophysical science. It seemed very convincing, since lava studies confirmed the high content of olivine. Later, using sounding by seismic waves, it was proved that the mineral is actually in the bowels in the molten state. However, some scientists were still mistaken.
Olivine belt of the planet - what is it?
This concept got to the masses thanks to the fantastic novel by A. N. Tolstoy "Engineer Hyperboloid Garin," which was created in 1927. Even in his sketches, the writer painted a futuristic picture: with the help of a beam of enormous power, scientists drill the earth's earth and reach a boiling infernal mixture consisting of olivine and gold.
The idea for the novel was not born from scratch - a friend of the writer told him about the engineer who actually built such an apparatus. But by design, he was a paraboloid, not a hyperboloid. This scientist subsequently died in 1918 in Siberia, burying the secret of invention with him. The inaccuracy in terms did not detract from the interest in the adventurous idea of gold mining, especially as the olivine layer did not lie so deeply according to the description in the novel - 5 km from the Earth’s surface.
Engineer Garin - Enriched Evil Genius
In A.N. Tolstoy’s novel, the Russian engineer Peter Garin manages to create a hyperboloid emitting a beam of enormous thermal power that can destroy any substance in its path. Thanks to the infernal machine, a brilliant scientist began mining gold on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. An American billionaire was involved in the project, whose competitors were also destroyed with the help of a hyperboloid.
Gold mining from the olivine belt of engineer Garin led to the undermining of the foundations of the global economy and a severe financial crisis. An evil genius buys the entire US industry and proclaims himself a dictator. On the path to world domination, Garin substitutes and uses other people to carry out his selfish plans. However, its tyranny does not last long, and a group of revolutionaries captures the hyperboloid. Later, a general uprising of workers was unfolding.
Why the hypothesis has become so popular
The idea of world domination and easy enrichment has existed at all times. Tolstoy’s novel was a sign of the era in which the writer lived. At the beginning of the 20th century, a kind of “explosion” of technical thought occurs, new types of weapons of mass destruction are being developed. Tolstoy redid the chapters of the novel several times, and the last, fourth part, was finally completed in 1939, before the outbreak of World War II.
An interesting fact is that the creation of this work was inspired by the Shukhov Tower, better known as the Shabolov TV Tower. It was erected in 1920-1922. and when it was built, for the first time in the world, hyperboloid metal structures were used. The grandiose creation of human hands delighted contemporaries and at the same time instilled fear of the possible negative role of technical discoveries.
Olivine belt: true or fiction?
As modern scientific research shows, olivine is actually a very common mineral. The igneous rocks, on which the Earth’s solidity rests, are made up of it, which is why geologists call it rock-forming. However, there is no gold beneath them.
The idea of the olivine belt was caused by artistic necessity, which allows one person who has mastered unique technology to enslave the whole world. Therefore, this concept can only be considered as a literary device.
What is actually in the bowels of the earth
Under the earth's crust is a mantle that surrounds the core of the planet. It isolated during the long evolution of the Earth for 4.5 billion years. Its thickness is about 3000 km. The mantle accounts for 2/3 of the mass of the entire planet, and it consists of heavy minerals, including mainly iron and magnesium. Of the other most common chemical elements, oxygen, silicon, aluminum, calcium, sodium, potassium and their oxides can be distinguished.
The mantle structure is divided into 3 layers. The upper one is involved in the movement of lithospheric plates. The middle one has an amorphous structure, consists of a plastic substance and is the main source of volcanic magma. The lower layer is rich in nickel and iron. This structure is still not well understood. It is possible that between it and the core there is another layer characterized by high temperature and heterogeneity of the substance.
But there are still treasures
Olivine-rich rocks in modern geology are a sure sign of the presence of deposits of diamonds, platinum, chromium, titanium and nickel. These minerals are no less valuable than gold, described in a fantastic novel by A.N. Tolstoy.
So, one of the largest diamond deposits in the world is Argyll deposits in Australia. They consist of rocks of volcanic origin - olivine tuffs. The presence in the minerals of magnesium silicate and iron, coming from the metaphorical olivine belt, indicates a high content of precious diamonds.